Let them drink water? Indian celeb backtracks after criticism over pool photo during water crisis

Indian director and politician’s daughter Soundarya Rajinikanth has apologized to angry fans after posting a picture of herself and her son in a swimming pool, while 10 million people in the city of Chennai go without water.

In the now-deleted photo, Rajinikanth could be seen relaxing in a pool of cool, refreshing water with her son Ved.

However, with reservoirs around the city of Chennai drying up and 10 million residents without potable drink, commentators were none too pleased. Rajinikanth deleted the post on Sunday and apologized to her 2.8 million followers, “considering the sensitivity around the current water scarcity we are facing.”

Rajinikanth’s father, a Bollywood actor and local politician who goes by the mononym ‘Rajinikanth,’ arrived in Chennai on Sunday to declare that any remaining water in lakes and ponds must be saved “on a war-footing mode” to alleviate the current crisis. Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio was more fatalistic, writing on Instagram that “only rain can save Chennai from this situation.”

Soundarya Rajinikanth has a habit of posting glamorous photos to social media at the most inappropriate times. Earlier this year, she was criticized for posting shots of her honeymoon in Iceland, while the nation mourned the deaths of 49 soldiers in a terrorist attack in Kashmir.